Bitcoin prices have remained in constant decline for the past 36 hours after reaching a high near $1023 on MtGox

Bitcoin prices have remained in constant decline for the past 36 hours after reaching a high near $1023 on MtGox early Sunday. After hitting an intraday low of $907 earlier today, BTC is now trading at $917.

Traders may be weighing the consequences if the drive to have BTC gain acceptability with Chinese authorities fails. There have been a string of negative news items on BTC emanating from China.

Among them are a government-backed TV program which disparages BTC. Contributors to the program alleged that parts of 2 hour interviews were hand-picked and taken out of context in order negatively portray the cryptocurrency, underscoring the lengths Chinese authorities are willing to go to shun the currency. There have also been tweets that the CEO of HuoBi was arrested. Huobi, previously a lesser known BTC exchange in China, has reportedly continued to accept deposits in CNY despite a government ban.

In addition, the South China Morning Post has painted a bleak picture of the currency’s future without Beijing’s approval, calling the Bitcoin a “bubble” and “ponzi scheme masquerading as a futuristic currency”.

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BTC has previously bounced back even after far more devastating developments in China and it is likely for that trend to continue.

BTC has declined over 10% since its high early Sunday. It has trimmed its gains in 2014 to 4%.

It has recently held on to its support level of approx. $870, which it has not yet broken in 2014. However, it has yet to return anywhere near its all-time high of $1242 reached in late November, and is unlikely to do so until significantly more encouraging news comes out of China.

Even in the short term, the crypocurrency has faced ever-decreasing resistance levels, failing to crack $1040 since last week.